Loss and Gain
by Lady Merlin
Summary: eh, kinda cont'd from e lost colony... read it. i dunno why i din publish it earlier. it's nice...
1. Chapter 1

I own no one. OMFG. I JUST READ LOST COLONY. I THINK I DIED. IT IS SO FRIKKIN OBVIOUS!!! MAJOR AH FLUFF!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! (that was pretty painful and high pitched seeing as my window just shattered) I don't think I like Minerva… blah her. AW ARTY IS SO CUTE WITH THE PUBERTY THING AND ALL!!! I MEAN, AWWWWWWW!!!! I JUST WANNA HUG HIM!!!! I think I almost cried when Holly died… I'm going soft. I cried when Lirael lost her arm, and when Holly died. And it was so sweet what Artemis thought when Holly 'died' anyway, enough of my crap… On with the story. :D.

Artemis could barely believe it. He had just seen a blade plunge into a figure, a very short figure. It was like everything slowed down. His timing was slower, even though his internal clock knew it was right on dot. He saw it through the corner of his eye. It was Holly. His heart was pumping more than he'd ever felt it.

He saw her eyes widen just by a fraction. He saw her mouth open a bit, her pink lips wet. It made a clean snick, like a key entering a lock. He knew by the position that it had probably punctured her vital organs… He could barely breathe. Her chest, not that he stared, was moving slower by the second.

He heard her gasp a bit and whisper, "magic…" All Artemis was focusing on was the amount of pain in her voice… and in his heart. (sorry, but fluff is best served cheesy) He'd never felt this way before, desperate, not able to think…

"Magic can't save you…" N'zall said. That's all Artemis had to hear to start panicking. He was shocked. He never panicked. Was this another factor of puberty?

He saw Holly's eyes move to him. He knew she was going to ask him of something he might not be able to give. She was slipping, as if her legs had no power to hold her up anymore. They probably didn't. The sword came out of her body, like a knife slicing through melted butter.

The ash coating the ground flew up into the air, with the gentle thump. "Artemis," Holly whispered. Artemis closed his eyes, an unbidden thought popping into this head; he liked the way she said his name. "Artemis, save me…" she whispered. He knew that that horrible sound of the sword coming out of her body would stay with him to the grave. It was like the sound of steel clashing with steel. Tears began to flow from his closed eyes, getting caught in his long dark lashes.

"No…" He whispered, refusing to admit it. He turned to make sure it was all a hallucination. It was a bad idea. He saw the pain in her eyes, tears flowing from them. He couldn't bear it, seeing his best friend die. He turned away, it was all to real… He continued counting, when all of a sudden, he felt an invisible punch in his stomach, like something took all the air out of him. He knew. She was gone. Never to return. Her life vanished, snuffed out like a candle in his heart. And he realised, he no longer had the desire to be, good. It was only her, always her…

He gasped; breathing, or at least attempting to. His mind felt cold, ice forming around images of everything, all memories, around the moment… time stood still for the grieving boy, no man… no boy should have to experience what he just did.

He closed his eyes and focused on time. He wanted to change this. His side motto; the future is in **my** hands. He knew it could change. He knew he would change it. He wouldn't leave without it.

Suddenly, he opened up his eyes to a voice. He looked where Holly had been lying seconds ago. The body wasn't there. The voice called again. "Hey, don't you have a job to do?"

He turned to look at Holly who was dragging N'zall across the ground, his feet and hands tied up. She looked so beautiful. Artemis could only stare and smile. Holly saw him smile and looked up. He had to take only one look into her eyes to know she remembered. She gave him a knowing smile. It struck Artemis like a lightning bolt. He had to stop himself from gasping.

He, Artemis Fowl the second, Criminal Mastermind, Discover-er of Magic, Plague of all the corporal institutions in the world, was in love.

Those two words were like the blow, the impact at lift off. He felt light hearted. Holly was wondering why Artemis had frozen, when he strode over, covering the small distance between them in two steps. Holly was a bit surprised, but her mind blanked out before she could even think. Artemis had placed his lips on hers, capturing her in a passionate kiss, something he'd never done before…

Holly couldn't think of anything but the feel of his lips on hers. Shockingly, he tasted like chocolate. N'zall rolled his eyes as Artemis pushed him away with his leg, his hands sweeping around Holly's waist, pressing her against him, holding her tight. His eyes were closed, as were hers. He pulled away, not really breathing.

Holly was just as shocked. "Did that mean what I think it meant?" she asked softly.

Artemis suddenly saw the reality. It was going to be tough. He said what he had to. "It meant whatever you thought it meant."

Holly was hurt a second before she realised, Artemis was terrified. He had no idea what to do. She giggled a bit, then laughed. He was shutting himself away because he was scared. Artemis was staring, eyes wide open, fear flickering in them. She stopped herself. She knew that she was probably scaring him some more. "You don't need to shut yourself away. There's nothing to be scared of."

"I'm not scared!" Artemis exclaimed.

"Yeah, right." Then she softened. "I'm as scared as you are."

"You're deranged." Artemis said, but Holly could have sworn, she knew she saw his face relaxing in relief.

Later on, after the shell shock of having been gone three years, Artemis was sitting infront of Holly in a high-tech helicopter, lifting them off that godforsaken island. N'zall, Qwan and No1 had been taken to another place, for, further inspection. He sighed as he looked at Holly. He looked amazing, inside and out. He knew this was not normal… why would he feel this way?

A silent voice in his head told him why;_ Because she's your first unprofessional friend, cuz she's hot, cuz she's smart, cuz she's funny and cuz she knows you inside out. _Artemis sighed. That was the problem with being a genius. He had arguments with himself. Truthfully, he was pretty shocked when Holly had just randomly started laughing. It was… odd… and scary. Maybe she was laughing at him, he's thought. But ah well.

He'd zoned out. Holly knew as she met his eyes staring at her, not really seeing. Suddenly, a crackle came from the pilot's compartment. Foaly was driving. "Mud Boy, your home. Outside. Have a good time explaining…"

"Shut up Foaly." Artemis retorted, strapping on his self-detonating wings. Well, Foaly detonated wings.

Holly was about to lean over and kiss him on the cheek before he grabbed her by her waist and planted another kiss on her lips. They were so close that they could feel each others' heart beating furiously in their ribcages. They were unaware of a clip-clopping sound that could only emanate from Foaly's hooves.

He had just walked into the room. His face contorted in disgust, but he was pleased. "About time…" he mumbled, not intended for anyone's ears. Artemis heard.

He smiled. "It took death for me to realise…" as he kissed Holly again.

"What does that mean?" Foaly asked. They ignored him. "Ah well, I'll leave you two to suck each other's faces off then…" and walked off. Artemis smiled into the kiss, as did Holly. Artemis broke off. 

"I've gotta go… See you soon… I've got big plans… I'm 18…" he finished.

"Oh god…" Holly joked. "Artemis Fowl, old enough to vote!"

"I've been voting for years." Artemis grinned evilly patting his cell phone.

Holly shook her head as Artemis took a jump. He landed on a pier. He'd be in touch…


	2. Chapter 2

You know what? I've decided to continue this. Mwahaha!!! I own no one. ENJOY!

"Maybe we can arrange a miracle." Artemis said, sparking his finger.

Butler was far beyond amazement. "That was a new trick." He said laconically.

"I picked up a bit more than an eye in the time tunnel."

"I see, don't do it around the twins."

"Don't worry. I won't." Then his brain computed what Butler had just said.

"What twins?"

Butler punched in the number, smiling. "Maybe time stood still for you, big brother, but it didn't for the rest of us."

Artemis stumbled to the only chair in the room and sank into it.

_Big brother? _He thought, and then…

_Twins!_

At that moment, his parent received an international call…

"Madam, Sir, I would like to inform you that Artemis has returned." Butler said solemnly on the line. Artemis was just watching. He heard a shrill high-pitched scream on the other side.

"WE'RE COMING ARTY, WE'RE COMING!!" he heard them yell before the phone shut click. He winced. He never had liked parental attention.

Butler chuckled. He knew of this dislike. "Tell me your tale Master."

"Butler, how many times have I told you, call me Artemis."

"Then call me Dom." Butler replied quickly. Artemis chuckled.

"Time has not slowed you my friend…"

"Of course not. Now, continue."

And Artemis continued until he reached the part about Holly's temporary death. Apparently he still wasn't over the fact that he might almost have lost her. This he staggered through, Butler shocked out of his seat. "So, so, she's… dead?" he asked softly.

"No, Of course not!" Artemis exclaimed. "What kind of genius do you think I am to let my—er, very best friend die?!" Butler could sense something was fishy. He knew it.

"So what did you do?"

"Well…" but he'd barely finished when there was a knock on the door. Butler opened it to let his parents in. His mother squealed and hugged her long lost son. He let her, for once. His father was smiling his head off. It was almost like they couldn't believe it.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" she screeched. Artemis rolled his eyes. "Mother, Father, have a seat. I hope you don't mind, Dom." Both his parents sat down.

"Now see, I hear from Dom that both of you have disbelieved everything he has said in attempts to explain my disappearance. Well, I have to say something. It's true. All of it. When I was 11, I went to Ho Chi Minh City to…" and the entire story came pouring out, all the lies, deceptions, everything. His parents could hardly believe it. Faeries? Their son had lost it…

"Son, we'll take you to a hospital, just stop all this nonsense… I know we've not been good parents, but don't do this to us…" his father said. Artemis laughed, clear and loud, something he'd never done before. "You've changed…" his father commented.

"Yes, I do believe I have…" Artemis admitted, pondering over the fact a bit. "Now, I'll need a conference with Holly for a few minutes so I can ask her about the present situation." Artemis said, "So if you'll excuse me," and walked off.

In another room, "Holly, Foaly, my parents don't believe it… they're trying to send me to a mental hospital…" he mumbled.

"Crap, how'd he know?" Foaly wailed. "HE ALWAYS KNOWS!!!" Artemis chuckled as he heard Foaly's voice sound back to him…

"I'm a genius, of course…"

"Hey Artemis, I'm coming up, Foaly too. He's gotta explain what happened…"

"Good morning Holly, ok, I'll be at the pier you dropped me off at. With my parents." He walked away.

"This is going to be complicated…" Holly sighed to Foaly.


	3. Chapter 3

I own no one. Enjoy.

Holly sighed. She was on a high speed flare to the surface. Again. She hated this thing. She could hear the plates creaking. It made her nauseous. Foaly, on the other hand was skipping around happily. It had been years since he'd been on one of these things. The technology 'amazed him'. She could barely resist the urge to grab him by the neck and slam his head into a wall, just for being so happy. She had absolutely no idea why she was feeling so crabby. (probably b'cos I am)

She sighed again. This time Foaly came over. "What's up Holly?" he asked. He knew this was not normal crabbiness, even for someone as normally crabby as her. (I dunno why I'm using crabby so many times either)

"I don't know Foaly. That's the problem." Holly groaned.

"Erm, Holly, I may not be an expert on female matters, of which clearly this is one, but I do know one thing. There's a place, above the surface where if you sit for 20 minutes, you can't possibly be sad anymore. It's called, The Cinema, and I do happen to know that it's showing Charlie Chaplin after this."

"What's that?" Holly asked, lightened by his genuine concern.

"What?" Foaly exclaimed. "You don't know Charlie Chaplin!" he cried and wrung his hands about. "You insult to nature!" he cursed. "I must take it upon myself to educate you" (saying educate like 'ejda-ca-te ye')

Holly chuckled. "Any no matter what, I'll always be there for you Holly. You're my best friend. My only friend, come to think of it. And I'll do whatever it takes."

Holly couldn't help it. She hugged Foaly.

"EWWWW!!!" Foaly whined. "YUCK! GIRL COOTIES!!!" he said, before winking and running around in circles waving his arms about.

Holly giggled. Then laughed. Then stopped. And then burst into laughter, clutching her sides, tears rolling down her cheeks. Foaly grinned. Mission achieved.

Well, not much achieved, but it helps me feel better about not posting this up before… R&R fast, deprivation. Oh yeah, this one's dedicated to my buddies from my old school. I miss you guys and please remember me. I'll never forget my first and best friends. Thanks for everything you've done. You helped me get through every day (unwittingly as it is)


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